Obama will support gay marriage, Kirsten Gillibrand says

Washington, DC —
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand thinks President Barack Obama will reverse course next year and support gay marriage.

Obama has previously said he's "wrestling" with and "evolving" on the issue of marriage equality and currently supports recognizing gay and lesbian couples with civil unions.

But at a recent fundraiser in San Francisco he suggested the issue could be on his second term agenda.

When Obama told the crowd that it would take more than one term "for us to finish everything we need to do," someone shouted out "gay marriage!"

"Our work is not finished," Obama responded.

In an interview with gay glossy The Advocate, Gillibrand, a supporter of gay rights including marriage, was asked if she believes Obama would come out in support of the issue before 2012.

"Definitely," she said. "He put the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in his State of the Union address. So there's no reason why he can't lean into marriage equality in a public speech or through some action he could do through the White House. I'd be thrilled if he decided to do that. He did take the step of not [defending] DOMA through his Department of Justice, which is a fantastic step because it was one that he was unwilling to do in 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' So it shows a shift in his willingness to use the power of the White House — the power of the administration — to change public perception and to change policy."

"So I think we could get a very strong public statement out of him," she added.